Opera Singers/Musicians/Performers

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swissmardi
swissmardi Posts: 57 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Are there any other opera singers out there? I am really trying to figure out my calorie in take as well as what to list as far as exercise goes when singing... Need all the help I can get also from other Musicians, Singers, Performers. Thanks.

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  • Vanishing_Gordies
    Vanishing_Gordies Posts: 174
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    You don't really burn much singing/performing. Depending on the performance and what it entails, you could maybe list as standing for x amount of time.
  • KariQuiteContrary
    KariQuiteContrary Posts: 274 Member
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    How much moving are you doing while singing? While singing is an athletic activity and you do find yourself winded after doing quite a bit of it, it doesn't really burn many more calories than simply standing. However, singing does wonders for your breath control and lung capacity so it is contributing greatly to your fitness level. If you were doing more musical theater the amount of calories you'd burn is a completely different story. I teach music and am singing from the time I get to school until the close of the school day and beyond. I don't count it as any sort of calorie burn but I do notice how much easier it is for me to undertake certain cardiovascular exercises as opposed to those friends of mine that weigh the same but don't know how to use their lungs properly.
    Hope it helps :)
  • caitlinclock
    caitlinclock Posts: 528 Member
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    I tried to calculate this once since I sing a lot.
    I am just a lyrical soprano with a dream!

    From my research from various sites, for the type of singing we are doing with correct breath support, usually done standing or sitting up straight, and for long periods of time, it's about 4 calories per minute, varying slightly per person and also even by the song's tempo.

    That's not too bad especially if you are practicing for long amounts of time or doing a lot of performances.

    I hope this helps you.
  • swissmardi
    swissmardi Posts: 57 Member
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    Well, I'm singing Wozzeck right now in a production in Russia. I am constantly moving and the rehearsals are a real killer... We are all sweating and trying to figure out how to sing and act at the same time...
    I saw that on the site under Cardio Rock Music is listed... So is playing the piano... But nothing for singers. When I do these types of roles and productions anything more than Tai Chi and yoga, maybe a nice 20-30 min walk really exhausts me. I sing things like Tosca and Aida in German productions (or, as in this one Russian) with stage directors who are more into wanting it acted not sung. I'm always struggling with my food consumption, trying to find out what is best as well as trying to figure out just how much extra movement I can do when I work from 10-2, then 6-10 with lunch and dinner squeezed into the afternoon's 4 hour slot. Exhaustion also leads me to not lose any weight and keep a ton of water which depresses me... Traveling and not being able to cook for my self in a lot of foreign countries is also very tricky....
    Any more experience??? Thanks for all the feed back.
  • sfheisler
    sfheisler Posts: 2
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    Hi! I am an opera singer trying to figure this out myself.... for regular practicing at home, I just use the "music playing, piano" option, because I figure I am burning at LEAST that many calories from accompanying myself. The closest I've come to figuring it out is to add up the time that I spend in rehearsal dancing/moving and then entering it as "dancing, ballroom/slow." When you think about how we have to support and then move around the stage supporting, I think it should be similar to a very slow waltz in terms of calorie expenditure. That being said, I WISH there was a "singing" exercise to enter! I hope that this helps even a little bit! -S
  • sfheisler
    sfheisler Posts: 2
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    According to the FitDay website (which does not look as good as this website!), at my weight I should burn 136 calories an hour from "church singing/standing/singing/active participation..." maybe combine that number with some dancing/walking numbers for a full production? Good luck!
  • tajour
    tajour Posts: 134 Member
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    I direct a church choir and have always been amazed at how hot and sweaty I get after a church rehearsal. I mean, I'm bopping on the podium all over the place, waving my arms around the entire time and really working, especially when we're doing gospel music with the drummer. I figured I *had* to be burning a least a million calories, right? Well, I popped on my Polar Heart Monitor for one rehearsal in July and was sad to see that one hour only burned about 130 calories. I mean, that's better than sitting on the couch watching reruns of House, but it certainly won't ever be able to substitute for my walks/jogs/bike rides, lol.
  • joshmintz87
    joshmintz87 Posts: 1
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    i am singing La Gazza Ladra and I am in the choir and we sing alot. you do lose some calories but its something especially when you take day off from the gym
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    I'm a flutist and when I perform I move quite a bit and am exhausted because of all the emotional, etc energy I put into a performance
  • silviajd
    silviajd Posts: 2
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    I'm another opera singer, and I can definitely vouch that this variety of singing absolutely burns at least some calories. Often after a 3 hour rehearsal, and absolutely after a performance, I often find myself famished. I routinely have to make sure I have a hearty meal beforehand, and even then I burn through all of it.

    As far as figures go, the only thing I have found so far is in a blog at LiveStrong:
    singing baseline: woman, 35 years old, 150 lb, 5'5"
    while sitting: 90 cal per hour
    while standing: 121 cal per hour
    while moving around or dancing (like at a praise worship service): 310 cal per hour

    The Mayo clinic is mentioned, and men and heavier folks apparently burn more. I will likely add two custom exercises to my (new) app, one for choral singing and another for opera, which I'm guessing is somewhere between the two higher figures (and higher still since I am both a man and heavier than the baseline).
  • tahm42
    tahm42 Posts: 4,870 Member
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    I don't know about most of you but having to support the upper soprano range I sweat terribly. I feel like I am doing a good core work out. Except the muscles are pulling out instead of in. The choir I am part of really gives me a work out. I also play the flute so if playing the flute works calories then singing does also. I tend to move around more while singing than playing.
  • tahm42
    tahm42 Posts: 4,870 Member
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    http://www.caloriesperhour.com
    go to calculators
    click activity calculator
    then add your weight and duration
    then select singing- standing
  • essaylight
    essaylight Posts: 17
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    I just created the exercise for myself at a low estimate of 40 calories per hour. I am also playing guitar, and moving quite a bit. I figure it's all good if I underestimate. xxE
  • lciasullo
    lciasullo Posts: 34
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    Hi, I just went to Calories Burned.com and calculated an exercise for "singing, standing" and it said that at my weight and for the 2 and a half hours of rehearsal that I would burn 547 calories! Does that sound really high to anyone else, or is it just me? I mean, I DO feel like I've run a 5k afterwards, but I am a big woman, so I always just wrote it off to my size. Now that I am losing weight, it's still pretty tiring, but over 500 calories worth? Shoot, if that's true, I'll rehearse without complaint every day! lol
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I'm a drummer, which is at the physical end of the instrument spectrum, and I don't count any of it. It's just not enough above base burn rate to warrant the risk of over-estimating.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I mean, I DO feel like I've run a 5k afterwards...

    Do you actually run 5k regularly?
  • alainacalbo
    alainacalbo Posts: 2 Member
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    I fully agree that high-intensity classical singing (such as opera) counts as exercise! Someone else mentioned the LiveStrong article, which can be found here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/325132-how-many-calories-are-burned-from-singing/
    I've used that to create an activity on MFP and I use it to log my practice/performance time. It may not be precisely accurate, but at least it gets me to practice more!
  • gracimusic
    gracimusic Posts: 5 Member
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    I am a versatile singer experienced in various genres, including classical, jazz, rock, pop and Latin. I have calculated that I burn around 200kcal on a normal 60min set performance where I move and use my voice in mixed registers. I have the same thermal feeling when I sing an exclusively classical 60min recital where I use my support muscles for a long time. It's a research in progress :-)

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